Sophie Glenn Lau '92

There is no resting on one’s laurels in this profession! Each year brings a new schedule of classes, a new group of students, and a new set of challenges.

Title:

Dean of Faculty, Assistant Head of Senior School Shady Side Academy

I graduated from Princeton in 1992, and I have been teaching in independent schools since then (with a 2-year break to pursue a Master’s degree in History). I am in a new position in 2014 as Dean of Faculty, having made the transition to Administration from primarily full-time teaching. At my previous school I was the History Department Head and also worked as a Technology Integrationist last year, which included spearheading our transition to BYOD in the ninth grade.

While I know many graduates pursue careers in public schools, I am assuming there are others who, like me, went the route of independent schools. I did so in part so that I could coach – I was Captain of the Women’s Crew during my senior year. Of course public and independent school teachers face different challenges, but certainly all teachers need to feel intellectually engaged and valued.

I consider my experience with the Teacher Prep program to be a formative one in my career. I still remember specific moments from my student teaching and still draw on the lessons that I learned throughout my experience.